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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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SK 357 
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1919a 
Copy 1 



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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



Report 

No. 402. 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF CERTAIN PUBLIC 
LANDS IN CALIFORNIA AND OREGON. 



)CTOBER 22, 1919. — Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
the Union and ordered to be printed. . 



U%.r,rc.- 



He. 



Mr. Raker, from the Committee on the PubHc Lands, submitted the 

following: 



REPORT. 

[To a'^f^ompany H. K,/'S440.] 

Tlie Committ()j on the Pubhc Land's, to wh;P*. ,.«o refeired a bill 
(H. R. 8440) to provide for the restoBation to tlie public domain of 
certain public lands heretofore reseiVed for a bird reservation in 
Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, Calif.; and Klamath County, Oreo;., 
and for other purposes, having considered same, report it to the 
House with the following specified amendment, and with the recom- 
mendation that the amendment be agreed to and as amended that 
the bill do pass. 

The committee recommends the following amendment: 

On page 4, in line 21, strike out the figure ''8" and insert the 
figure "6." 

The bill as finally passed upon and unanimously approved by the 
committee is as follows: 

A BILL To restore to the public domain certain lands heretofore reserved for a bird reservation in Siskiyou 
and Modoc Counties, California, and Klamath Comity, Oregon, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he hereby is, author- 
ized and directed to determine and make public announcement of what lands in 
and around Little or Lower Klamath Lake, in Siskiyou County, California, and in 
Klamath County, Oregon, ceded to the United States by the State of California by 
the act entitled "An act authorizing the United States Government to lower the water 
levels of any or all of the following lakes: Lower or Little Klamath Lake, Tule or 
Rhett Lake, Goose Lake, and Clear Lake, situated in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, 
and to use any part or all of the beds of said lakes for the storage of water in connection 
with the irrigation and reclamation operations conducted by the Reclamation Service 
of the United States; also ceding to the United States 'all right, title, interest, or 
claim of the State of California to any lands uncovered by the lowering of the water 
levels of any or all of said lakes not already disposed of by the State," and ceded to 
the United States by the State of Oregon by an act entitled "An act to authorize 
the utilization of Upper Klamath Lake, Lower or Little Klamath Lake, and Tule 
or Rhett Lake, situate in Klamath County, Oregon, and Goose Lake, situate in Lake 
County, Oregon, in connection with the irrigation and reclamation operations of the 
Reclamation Service of the United States, and to cede to the United States all the 



RESTORATION- AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. ^o^\" 



6^^; 



right, title, interest, and claim of the State of Oregon to any and all lan(!ft recovered 
by the lowering of the water levels or by the drainage of any or all of said lakes," 
will eventually be uncovered and opened to agricultural development by the low- 
ering of the water level of said lake. Title to all said lands can be acquired by 
homestead entry under the general homestead laws and the provisions of this act and 
not otherwise: Provided, That all said lands shall forever be and remain subject to 
the right of the United States (a) to overflow the same or any part thereof for the 
purposes of irrigation by such systems of reservoirs and drainage and diking as now 
actually exist or may be hereafter constructed in Siskiyou County, California, and 
Klamath County, Oregon, and (b) to drain the water therefrom. All patents issued 
for the said lands shall expressly reserve to the United States such right of overflow 
and drainage. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of the Interior shall also determine and make public 
announcement of the proportionate part of the sum of $283,225, heretofore expended 
from the reclamation fund in connection with the Klamath project, Oregon-California, 
that in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior each acre of the said land should be 
assessed, and the proportionate part that each acre of privately oviTied land, similarly 
situated to the said lands hereby affected, should be assessed, to return to said reclama- 
tion fund in all the said sum of $283,225. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and 
directed to cause said lands to be surveyed and opened to entry under the general 
homestead laws and the provisions of this act: Provided, That none of said lands shall 
be opened to entry until the Secretary of the Interior shall have fii'st made arrange- 
ment with the owners of lands in private ownership, similarly situated to the lands 
hereby affected, for the pa>Tnent into the reclamation fund of the proportionate part 
of the sum of $283,225, determined and apportioned by the Secretary of the Interior 
against said privately owned lands as provided in section 2. 

Sec. 4. That in addition to all payments required by the general homestead laws 
there shall he paid by homestead e.itrymen ihc amount per acre assessed as proAided 
in section 2 of this act. Said pajTiient shall be made in annual installments of $1 
per acre, except the lgsti4iRta]lment, which may be a fraction ^i a dollar: Provided, 
That the whole or any part of the amount so assessed may l>e paid by the entryman 
in a shorter period if he so elects. 'I'he fu'st installment shall be paid at the time 
homestead application is filed and su])sequent installments shall be due and payable 
on December 1 of each calendar year thereafter until the entire sum so assessed and 
apportioned against the lands is paid, and patent shall not issue for any of said lands 
until the sum so appi'opr^ated against said lands shall have been fully paid. Failure 
to pay any installment when due shall render the entry subject to cancellation, 
with a forfeiture of all moneys paid. All installments shall draw interest at the rate 
of 6 per centum per annum from their due date until paid. All moneys paid on 
account of such assessments shall, without diminution of any kind whatsoever, be 
covered into the reclamation fund. 

Sec. 5. That those who served with the military or naval forces of the United States 
during the war between the United States and Germany and her allies and have been 
honorably separated or discharged therefrom or placed in the Regular Army Reserve 
shall have preference and prior right to file upon and enter said lands under the 
homestead laws and the provisions of this act for a period of six months following the 
time said lands are opened to entry. That in opening said lands for homestead entry 
the Secretary of the Interior shall provide for the disposition thereof to the said soldiers, 
sailors, and marines, by drawing, under general rules and regulations to be promulgated 
by him. 

Sec. 6. That no rights to make entry shall attach by reason of settlement or squatting 
upon any of the lands hereby restored before the hour on which such lands shall be 
subject to homestead entry at the land ofhce, and until said lands are opened for settle- 
ment and entry as herein provided no person shall enter upon and occupy the same, 
and any person violating this provision shall never be permitted to enter any of said 
lands. 

Sec. 7. That the Secretary of the Interior shall determine which of the lands now 
within the boundaries of the Klamath Lake Bird Reserve are chiefly valuable for 
agricultural purposes and which for the purpose of said reservation, and shall open 
to homestead entry those lands which are chiefly valuable for agricultural purposes: 
Provided, That the shore line of the lake, including the smallest legal subdivision 
of land adjoining the flow line, shall remain in the possession of the United States, 
but access may be provided to the lake for such canals as may be necessary for irri- 
gation, drainage, and domestic water supply. 

Sec 8. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to perform any and 
all acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the 
purjjose of carrying the provisions of this act into full force and effect. 

m "him 



«4 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 3 

Bill H. E. 8440 was referred to the Department of the Interior, 
and on August 29, 1919, Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the 
Interior, made report thereon, which report is as follows: 

Department op the Interior, 

Washington, August 29, 1919. 
My Dear Mr. Sinnott: I am in receipt of j'^our request for report upon H. R. 8440, 
a bill to restore to disposition under the homestead laws certain lands heretofore 
reserved in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, Calif., and Klamath County, Oreg. 

The bill is, with the exception of section 5, identical with H. R. 10612, upon which 
this department made report to the Sixty-fifth Congress March 14, 1918, and which 
measure was reported by the House Committee on the Public Lands March 30, 1918, 
Report No. 430, Sixty-fifth Congress, second session. 

Section 5 of the present bill, instead of conferring a preference right of entry upon 
the. members of a homestead association, confers a preference right of entry upon 
soldiers, sailors, and marines who served during the war between the United States 
and Germany and her allies and have been honorably separated or discharged from 
the service or placed in the Regular Army Reserve. 

The facts relative to the lands involved'are fully set forth in previous reports of this 
department and in the report of the Public Lands Committee, No. 430, hereinbefore 
mentioned, and repetition thereof is accordingly deemed imnecessary. 

The bill in its present form meets with my approval, and I recommend its enact- 
ment. 

Cordially, yours, 

F. K. Lane, Secretary. 
Hon. N. J. Sinnott, 

Chairman Commit'tee on the Public Lands, 

House of Representatives. 

The bill was referred to the Department of Agriculture, and on 
August 26, 1919, Hon. C. F. Marvin, Acting Secretary, made report 
thereon, which report is as follows: 

Department op Agriculture, 

Washington, D. C, August 26, 1919. 
Hon. N. J. Sinnott, 

Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, 

House of Representatives. 
Dear Mr. Sinnott: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of August 23 inclosing 
for report a copy of H. R. 8440, a substitute for H. R. 416, relative to the restoration 
to the public domain of certain lands heretofore reserved for a bird reservation in 
Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, Calif., and Klamath County, Oreg. 

Apparently the only change in the substitute bill is in section 5, which now provides 
preference rights for filing on the lands by persons who served in the military or naval 
forces of the United States during the recent war. With this provision the depart- 
ment is in full accord. As stated in previous reports on the bill, since the measure 
provides that the lands chiefly- valuable for the protection of birds shall remain in 
the reservation, and also that "the shore line of the lake, including the smallest legal 
subdivisions of the land adjoining the flow line, shall remain in the possession of the 
United States, the interests of the birds seem to be fully safeguarded, and the depart- 
ment has no objection to the passage of the bill. 
Very truly, yours, 

C. F. Marvin, Acthig Secretary. 

The report on H. II . 416, Sixty-sixth Congress, referred to in the 
above letter of date August 26 by the Acting Secretary is as follows: 

Department op Agriculture, 

Washington, D. C, August 22, 1919. 
Hon. N. J. Sinnott, 

Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, 

House of Representatives. 

Dear Mr. Sinnott: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of August 14, trans- 
mitting copy of H. R. 416, introduced by Mr. Raker, "To restore to the public domain 



4 RESTOEATION AND RESERVATIOISr OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

certain, lands heretofore reserved for a bird reservation in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties 
Calif., and Klamath County, Oreg;., and for other purposes." 

H. R. 416 appears to be identical with H. R. 226, Sixty-fifth Congress, introduced 
April 2, 1917, upon which a report was made by this department. I will repeat what 
was said in that report. 

The Klamath Lake Reservation is one of the most important bird reservations in 
the United States. It furnishes safe nesting grounds for many thousands of ducks 
and geese and other species of birds which are of much economic value to the S'^ates 
of California and Oregon, as well as to other parts of the country. It also affords a 
convenient and safe resting place for large numbers of migratory wild fowl. The 
department would be opposed to any legislation which might result in the elimina- 
tion of any lands from the reservation unless it could be shown upon investigation 
that the lands to be eliminated were not needed for the protection of the birds and 
were valuable for agricultural purposes. Section 7 of the bill provides that the 
Seoretai'y of the Interior shall determine which lands are chiefly valuable for agri- 
culture and which are chiefly valuable for the purposes of the reservation and that 
he shall open to homestead entry only those lands which are chiefly valuable fcr 
agricultural purposes. The same section also provides that the shore line of the lake, 
including the smallest legal subdivisions of land adjoining the flow line, shall remain 
in the possession of the United States. With these provisions in the bill the interests 
of the bii'ds would seem to be safeguarded, and in consequence the department has 
no objection to suggest against the enactment of the bill. 
Very truly, yours, 

C. F. Marvin, Acting Secretary. 

H. R. 8440 is a substitute for H. R. 416, above referred to, the only 
difference being in section 5 of both bills. 
Section 5 of H. R. 416 reads as follows: 

Sec. 5. That members of the Siskiyou Homesteaders' Association qualified to 
make homestead entry, who have obligated themselves to repay to the United States 
a proportionate part of the moneys heretofore expended from the reclamation fund 
upon or for these lands as described in section 2 of this act, have secured the release 
of riparian rights, constructed roads, and performed other acts tending to the devel- 
opment and improvement of these lands, shall have a preference and prior right to 
enter and file upon said lands under the homestead laws and the provisions of this act 
for the period of sixty days following the time said lands are open to entry. 

Section 5 of the present bill (H. R. 8440), which is unanimously 
approved by the departments and the committee, reads as follows: 

Sec. 5. That those who served with the military or naval forces of the United States 
during the war between the LTnited States and Germany and her allies and have 
been honorably separated or discharged therefrom or placed in the Regular Army 
Reserve shall have preference and prior right to file upon and enter said lands under 
the homestead laws and the provisions of this act for a period of six months following 
the time said lands are opened to entry. That in opening said lands for homestead 
entry the Secretary of the Interior shall provide for the disposition thereof to the 
said soldiers, sailors, and marines by drawing, under general rules and regulations 
to be promulgated by him. 

The following is a letter written to the Department of Agriculture 
by the author of the bill and the department's reply thereto: 

August 23, 1919. 
Hon. David F. Houstok, 

Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
In re Klamath bird reserve, California and Oregon. 

My Dear Mr. Houston: I have before me your report on H. R. 416, of date August 
22. There has been some question as to the provisions of section 5 of this bill, which 
granted a preference right to those named therein. I have reintroduced the legisla- 
tion provided for in the above-named bill by eliminating the provisions of section 5 
and substituting therefor provisions granting preference rights to those who served 
in the military and naval forces of the United States during the war with Germany. 

The Committee on the Public Lands has referred this bill to your department for 
report, and as all the other matters have been disposed of, I most respectfully submit 



BESTORATION AND EESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 5 

H. R. 8440 for your favorable consideration and report to the Committee on the Public 
Lands of the House. 

I am, very truly, yours, 

John E. Raker, M. C. 



Department op Agriculture, 

Washington, August 26, 1919. 
Hon. John E. Raker, 

House of Representatives. 
Dear Mr. Raker: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of August 23, inclosing 
a copy of H. R. 8440, which you have introduced as a substitute for H. R. 416, relative 
to the elimination of certain lands from the Klamath bird reservation in California 
and Oregon. 

The only change in this bill, as stated in your letter, is that of section 5, granting 
preference rights to soldiers and sailors of the United States who serA^ed in the recent 
war. This provision does not in any way affect the interests of the bird reservation, 
nor does it modify in any way the approval of the former bill by this department. 
Very truly, yours, 

C. F. Marvin, Acting Secretary. 

The Departments of the Interior and Agriculture refer in their 
respective reports to H. R. 10612, Sixty-fiith Congress, second 
session (Kept. No. 430), which report of the committee, together 
with various letters of the Departments of Interior and Agriculture, 
is as f oUows : 

[House Report No. 430, Sixty-fifth Congress, second session.] 

The Committee on the Public Lands has had under consideration l)ill H. R. 10612, 
a bill to restore to the public domain certain lands heretofore reserved for a bird reserva- 
tion in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, Calif., and Klamath County, Oreg., and for other 
purposes. 

Having had the same under consideration and after full hearing and due considera- 
tion thereof, the committee reports that the bill be amended, and as amended that the 
bill do pass. The committee recommends the following amendment, namely: 

1. On pages 4 and 5, strike out all of section 5 and substitute a new section therefor, 
to read as follows : 

"That the members of the Siskiyou Homesteaders Association qualified to make 
homestead entry who have obligated themselves to repay to the United States their 
proportionate part of the moneys heretofore expended from the reclamation fund upon 
or for these lands, as described in section 2 of this act, as a part of the sum of |283,225, 
heretofore expended from the reclamation fund in connection with the Klamath 
project in Oregon and California, and who have been instrumental in securing the 
release of riparian rights and who have made application to lile upon the lands involved 
in good faith, shall have a preference and prior right to lile upon such lands as may be 
disclosed by the respective applications under the homestead laws and the provisions 
of this act within the period of sixty days following the time such lands may be opened 
to entry." 

The bill as finally passed upon and unanimously approved by the committee is as 
follows: 

A BILL To restore to the public domain ciertain lands heretofore reserved for a bird reservation in Siskiyou 
and Modoc Counties, California, anl ivlamath County, Oregon, and for other puipotes. 

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Eepreseyitatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior he, and he hereby is, author- 
ized and directed to determine and make public announcement of what lands, in 
and around Little or Lower Klamath Lake, in Siskiyou County, California, and in 
Klamath County, Oregon, ceded to the United States by the State of C-alifornia by 
the act entitled "An act authorising the United States Government to lower the water 
levels of any or all of the following lakes: Lower or Little Klamath Lake, Tule or 
Rhett Lake. Goose Lake, and Clear Lake, situated in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, 
and to use any part or all of the bedt; of said lakes for the stor^ige of water in connection 
with the irrigation and reclamation operations conducted l)y the Reclamation Service 



6 RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

of the United States; also ceding to the United States all right, title, interest, or claim 
of the State of California to any lands uncovered by the lowering of the water levels 
of any or all of said lakes not already disposed of by the State," and ceded to the 
United States by the State of Oregon by an act entitled ''An act to authorize the 
utilization of Upper Klamath Lake, Lower or Little Klamath Lake, and Tule or Rhett 
Lake, situate in Klamath County, Oregon, and Goose Lake, situate in Lake County, 
Oregon, in connection with the irrigation and reclamation operations of the Recla- 
mation Service in the United States, and to cede to the United States all the right, 
title, interest, and claim of the State of Oregon to any and all lands recovered by the 
lowering of the water levels or l)y the drainage of any or all of said lakes," will eventu- 
ally be uncovered and opened to agricultural development by the lowering of the 
water level of said lake. Title to all said lands can be acquired l)y homestead entry 
under the general homestead laws and the provisions of this act and not otherwise: 
Provided, That all said lands shall forever be and remain subject to the right of the 
United States (a) to overflow the same or any part thereof for the purposes of irriga- 
tion by such systems of reservoirs and drainage and diking, as now actually exist 
or may be hereafter constructed in Siskiyou County, California, and Klamath County, 
Oregon, and (b) to drain the water therefrom. All patents issued for the said lands 
shall expressly reserve to tlie United States such right of overflow and drainage. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of tlie Interior shall also determine and make pulilic 
announcement of the ])roportionate part of the sum of $283,225, heretofore expended 
from the reclamation fund in connection with the Klamath project, Oregon-California, 
that in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior each acre of the s.iid land should 
be assessed, and the proportionate i)art that each acre of privately owned land, sim- 
ilarly situated to the said lands hereby affected, should be assessed, to return to said 
reclamation fund in all the said sum of §283,225. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and 
dii'ected to cause said lands to be surveyed and opened to entry under the general 
homestead laws and the provisions of this act: Provided, That none of said lands shall 
be opened to entry until the Secretary of the Interior shall have first made arrange- 
ment with the owners of lands in private ownership, similarly situated to the lands 
hereby affected, for the payment into the reclamation fund of the proportionate part 
of said sum of $283,225, determined and apportioned by the Secretary of the Interior 
against said i^rivately owned lands as provided in section two. 

Sec. 4. That in addition to all payments required by the general homestead laws 
there shall be paid by homestead entrymen tlie amount per acre assessed as provided 
in section two of this act. Said payment shall be made in annual installments of 
$1 per acre, except the last installment, which may be a fraction of a dollar: Provided, 
That the whole or any part of the amount so assessed may be paid by the entryman 
in a shorter period if he so elects. The first installment shall be paid at the time 
homestead application is filed and subsequent installments shall be due and pay- 
able on December first of each calendar year thereafter until the entire sum so assessed 
anci apportioned against the lands is paid, and patent shall not issue for any of said 
lands until the smn so appropriated against said lands shall have been fully paid. 
Failure to pay any installment when due shall render the entry subject to cancella- 
tion, with a forfeiture of all moneys paid. All installments shall draw interest at 
the rate of 8 per centum per annum from their due date until paid. All moneys 
paid on account of such assessments shall, without diminution of any kind what- 
soever, be covered into the reclamation fimd. 

Sec. 5. That the members of the Siskiyou Homesteaders' As.3ociation, qualified to 
make homestead entry, who have obligated themselves to repay to the United States 
their proportionate part of the moneys heretofore expended from the reclamation 
fund upon or for these lands, as described in section two of Ihis act, as a part of the 
sum of $2-3,225 heretofore expended from the reclamation fund in connection with 
the Klamatli project in Oregon and California, and who have been instrumental in 
securing the release of riparian rights, and who have made application to file upon 
the lands involved in good faith, shall have a preference and prior right to file upon 
such lands as may be disclosed by the respective applications under the homestead 
laws and the provisions of this act within the period of sixty days following the time 
such lands may be o])ened to entry. 

Sec. 6. That no rights to make entry shall attach by reason of settlement or squat- 
ting up(jn any of the lands hereby restored before the hour on which such lands shall 
be subject to homestead entry at the land office, and until said lands are opened for 
settlement and entry as herein j)rovided no person .shall enter upon and occupy the 
same, and any person violating this jn-o vision shall never be permitted to enter any 
of said lands. 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 7 

Sec. 7. That the Serretary of the Interior shall determine which of the lands now 
within th(j boundaries of the Klamath Lake Bird Reserve are chiefly valuable for 
agricultural ]:)urposes and which for the purpose of said reservation, and shall open 
to homestead entry those lands which are chiefly valuable for agricultural purposes: 
Provided, That tlie shore line of the lake, iu'luding the smallest legal subdivision of 
land adjoining the flow line, shall remain in the possession of the United States, 
but access may be provided to the lake for such canals as may be necessary for irri- 
gation, drainage, and domestic water supply. 

Sec. 8. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to perform any and 
all acts and to make such rules and I'egulations as may be necessary and proper for 
the T'urpose of carrving the })rovisions of tliis act into full force and effect. 

Bill H. R. 10612 was substituted for the bill H. R. 226, Sixty-fifth Congi-ess, first 
session. Full hearings were had by the Committee on Public Lands on the bill 
H. R. 10612. The only difference between bill H. R. 226 and bill H. R. 10612 is the 
amendment of section 5. 

Bill H. R. 10612 Avas referred to the Department of the Interior, and on March 14, 
1918, Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, made report thereon, which 
report is as follows: 

Department of the Interior, 

Washington, March 14, 1918. 
Hon. Scott Ferris, 

Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, 

House of Representatives. 

My Dear Mr. Ferris: I have your letter of March 11 transmitting copy of H. R. 
10612, with request for report. 

This bill is substantially the same as H. R. 226, introduced at the last session and 
favorably reported on. I note, however, that it carries a new provision in section 5, 
as follows : 

"That members of the Siskiyou Homesteaders' Association, qualified to make 
homestead entry, who have obligated themselves to repay to the United States n 
proportionate part of the moneys heretofore expended from the reclamation fund 
upon or for these lands, as described in section 2 of this act, have secured the release 
of riparian rights, constructed roads, and performed other acts tending to the develop- 
ment and improvement of these lands, shall have a preference and prior right to enter 
and file upon said lands under the homestead laws and the provisions of this act for 
the period of 60 days following the time said lands are opened to entry." 

To make this section more definite I suggest that the language be slightly amended , 
to read as follows: 

"That the members of the Siskiyou Homesteaders' Association, qualified to make 
homestead entry, who have obligated themselves to repay to the United States their 
proportionate part of the moneys heretofore expended from the reclamation fund upon 
or for these lands, as described in section 2 of this act, as a part of the sum of 1283,225 
heretofore expended from the reclamation fund in connection with the Klamath 
project in Oregon and California, and who have been instrumental in securing the 
release of riparian rights and who have made application to file upon the lands in- 
volved in good faith, shall have a preference and prior right to file upon such lands as 
may be disclosed by the respective applications under the homestead laws and the 
provisions of this act within the period of 60 days following the time such lands may be 
open to entry." 

Thus amended I favor the enactment of the bill. 
Cordially, yours, 

Franklin K. Lane, Secretary. 



Department of the Interior, 

Washington, March 14, 1918. 
Hon. John E. Raker, 

Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives. 
My Dear Mr. Raker: I am in receipt of your letter of March 9, 1918, in re H. R. 
10612, a bill to restore to the public domain certain lands heretofore reserved for a 
bird reservation in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, Calif., and Klamath County, 
Oreg., and for other purposes. 

You mention a new section substituted for section 5, to carry out the views enter- 
tained at the recent conference, as follows: 

"That members of the Siskiyou Homesteaders Association qualified -to make home- 
stead entry who have obligated themselves to repay to the United States a propor- 
tionate part of the moneys heretofore expended from the reclamation fund upon or 



8 RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

for these lands, as descril^ed in section 2 of this act, have seciu'ed the relSase of riparian 
rights, constructed roads, and performed other acts tending^to the development and 
improvement of these lands, shall have a preference and prior right to enter and file 
upon said lands under the homestead laws and the provisions of this act for the period 
of 60 days following the time said lands are opened to entry." 

To make this section more definite I suggest that the language be slightly amended 
to read as follows: 

"That the members of the Siskiyou Homesteaders Association qualified to make 
homestead entry who have obligated themselves to repay to the United States their 
proportionate part of the moneys heretofore expended from the reclamation fund or 
for these lands, as described in section 2 of this act, as a part of the sum of .1283,225 
heretofore expended from the reclamation fund in connection with the Klamath 
project in Oregon and in California, and who have been instrumental in securing the 
release of riparian rights and who have made application to file upon the lands involved 
in good faith, shall haye a preference and prior right to file upon such lands as may be 
disclosed bv the respective applications under the homestead laws and the provisions 
of this act within the period of 60 days following the time such lands may be open to 
entry. ' ' 

Thus amended, I favor the enactment of the bill. 
Cordially, yours, 

Franklin K. Lane, Sea-etary. 

The report of May 7, 1917, concerning the same matter, referred to by the Secretary 
of the Interior in his report to the committee under date of March 14, 1918, is report 
upon H. R. 226 and is as follows: 

Department of the Interior, 

Washington, May 7, 1917. 

My Dear Mr. Ferris: I am in receipt of your request for report upon H. R. 226, 
a bill to restore to the public domain certain lands heretofore reserved for a l>ird reserva- 
tion in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, Calif., and Klamath County, Oreg., and for 
other purposes. 

The Inll deals primarily with lands ceded to the United States by the States of 
California and Oregon in connection with irrigation and reclamation operations of 
the Federal Government in that vicinity. The acts of cession, among other things, 
provide : 

<(* * * ^nd the lands hereby ceded may be disposed of by the United States 
free of any clxim on the part of this State in any manner that may be deemed ad\d8- 
able by Its auth )ri/,ed agencies in pursuance of the provisions of said reclamition act." 

This Inll provides that the Secretary of the Interior shall determine and make 
public announcement of the lands in and around Little or Lower Klamath Lake 
ceded to the United States by the States of California and Oregon, which will even- 
tually be uncovered and opened to agricultural development by lowering of the 
level of said lake, and provides that the lands shall be opened to homestead entry 
unde,r the general provisions of the homestead laws and of the bill. 

Further provision is made that the Secretary shall assess the proportionate amount 
of the §283,225 heretofore expended from the reclamation fund in connection with 
the Kla-nath project: that in his opinion each acre of privately oAvned lands similarly 
situated should l)e assessed to return to the reclamation fund the said sum, and that 
this assessment in the case of pu.^lic lands should be paid in annual installments of 
$1 per acre by the entry man. 

Section 2 provides that the Secretary of the Interior shall determine which of the 
lands now within the boundaries of the bird reservation are chiefly valuable for 
agricultural purposes and which for the purposes of the reservation, and shall open 
for entry those lands chiefly valuable for agricultural purposes. 

The proAiiion of section 4 of the l^ill, reiuiring the amount assessed against these 
lands to return to the reclamation fund the $283,225 in annual installments of $1 
per acre, in my opinion, places an unnecessarily heavy annual burden upon the 
entrymen, and I recommend that this annual installment be made 50 cents. I also 
recommend that section 5, which proposes to grant a preference right of entry to 
those persons who have made applications to enter any of said lands prior to March 1, 
1917, be nitted from the bill. 

It has been tlie uniform ruling of the Land Department that no rights can be 
acquired by an application to enter lands included within an existing reservation 
or entry, and the Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Holt v. Murphy 
(207 U. S., 407), recognized the soundness of this rule. 

The presentation of an application to enter lands reserved by the United States 
for a pu lie pu'-pose creates no equity, and to award a preference right to such appli- 
cants would, in my opinion, be unwise. The theory of the public-land laws, and 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. VJ 

particularly of the homestead laws, is equal opportunity to all qualified citizens, and 
this fair and proper rule should, in my opinion, not be departed from in the presen,t 
instance. 

With the changes suggested, the bill has my approval, and particularly so in view 
of the fact that it was the evident intent of the States, as shown by the language of 
the acts of cession, that the lands when uncovered and available for agricultural 
uses should be disposed of by the United States for that purpose and the establish- 
ment of homes. 

Cordially, yours, 

Franklin K. Lane, Secretary. 
Hon. Scott Ferris, 

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 

Bill H. R. 226 (for which 10612 has been substituted) was also referred to Hon. 
David F. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture, whose report thereon is as follows: 

Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C, April 12, 1917. 
Hon. Scott Ferris, 

Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, 

House of Representatives. 

Dear Mr. Ferris: Receipt is a'^knowledged of your letter of April 4 requesting 
a report on H. R. 226, a copy of which accompanied' your letter. 

This bill provides, first, that the Secretary of the Interior be authorized and directed 
to determine and make public announcement of what lands in and around Little or 
Lower Klamath Lake, in Siskiyou C'ounty, Calif., and Klamath County, Oreg.,will 
eventually be uncovered and opened to agricultural development by the lowering 
of the water level of said lake; second, that title to all said lands can be acquired 
by homestead entry under the general homestead laws and the provisions of this act; 
third, that the Secretary of the Interior be authorized and directed to survey the said 
lands and open them to entry under the general homestead laws and the provisions 
of this act; fourth, that persons who, prior to March 1, 1917, had applied to make 
homestead entries for any of the said lands should have a preference and prior right 
of entry; fifth, that no rights to make homestead entry shall attach by reason of 
settlement or squatting upon any of the said lands before the hour on which they 
shall be subject to homestead entry at the land office, and that such settlement or 
squatting shall operate to prevent such settler or squatter from entering any of said 
lands; sixth, that the Secretary of the Interior shall determine which of the lands 
now within the boundaries of the Klamath Lake Bird Reserve are chiefly valuable 
for agricultural purposes and which for the purposes of said reservation, and shall 
open to homestead entry these lands which are chiefly valuable for agricultural pur- 
poses, provided that the shore line of the lake, including the smallest legal subdivision 
of land adjoining the flow line, shall remain in the possession of the United States, 
but access may be provided to the lake for such canals as may be necessary for irri- 
gation, drainage, and domestic water supply; and, seventh, that the Secretaryof the 
Interior be authorized to take such a' tion and make such rules and regulations as 
may be necessary to carry the act into full force and effect. 

The Klamath Lake Reservation is one of the most important bird reservations in 
the United States. It furnishes safe meeting grounds for many thousands of ducks 
and geese and other species of birds which are of much economic value to the States 
of California and Oregon, as well as to other parts of the country. It also affords a 
convenient and safe resting grounds for large-numbers of migratory wild fowl. The 
department would be opposed to any legislation which might result in the elimina- 
tion of any lands from the reservation unless it could be shown upon investigation, 
that the lands to be eliminated were not needed for the protection of the Ijirds and 
were valuable for agricultural purposes. Section 7 of the bill provides that the 
Secretary of the Interior shall determine which lands are chiefly valuable for agri- 
culture and which are chiefly valuable for the purposes of the reservation, and that he 
shall open to homestead entry only those lands which are chiefly valuable for agricul- 
tural purposes. The same section also provides that the shore line of the lake, includ- 
ing the smallest legal subdivisions of land adjoining the flow line, shall remain in the 
possession of the United States. With these provisions in the bill the interests of the 
birds would seem to be safeguarded, and in consequence the department will inter- 
pose no objection to its passage. 
Very truly, yours, 

D. F. Houston, Secretary. 



10 RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

The Secretary of Agricultiire also made report on H. R. 10612, whi^h report is as 
follows: 

Department of Agriculture, 

Washington, March 13, 1918. 
Hon. Scott Ferris, 

House Committee on the Public Lands, Washington, D. C. 
My Dear Mr. Ferris: I have your letter of March 11 requesting a report, sugges- 
tions, and recommendations on H. R. 10612, introduced by Judge Raker. H. R. 
10612 is the same as the former bill (H. R. 226) with the exception of the amendment 
of section 5. This amendment does not appear to affect in any way adversely the 
interests of this department in the Klamath Lake Bird Reserve. The statements 
made in the department's letter of April 12, 1917, regarding H. R. 226 are therefore 
applicable to the present bill. 
Very truly, yours, 

Clarence Ousley, 

Acting Secretary. 

Department of Agriculture, 

Washington, March 12, 1918. 
Hon. John E. Raker, 

House of Representatives. 
My Dear Judge Raker: I have your letter of March 9 concerning the amended 
se-'tion 5 of H. R. 226. This amendment, as it is printed in the new bill (H. R. 
10612), does not appear to affect in any way the interests of this department in the 
Klamath Lake Bird Reserve. In the circumstances the statements made in the de- 
partment's letter of April 12, 1917, are applicable to the revised bill. 
Very truly, yours, 

Clarence Ousley, 

Acting Secretary. 

While the sundry civil bill was under consideration, in February, 1917, before the 
Senate committee, it was considered that the provisions of H. R. 226 might be included 
as an amendment to the sundry civil bill, and Secretary Lane recommended the adop- 
tion of the legislation under his letter of February 28, 1917, to Hon. Thomas S. Martin, 
chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations, which letter, together with the pro- 
posed draft (the pro\isions of which are the same as H. R. 226), is as follows: 

Department op the Interior, 

Washington, February 28, 1917. 
Hon. Thomas S. Martin, 

Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations, 

United States Senate. 
My Dear Senator: In the pending bill for sundry civil expenses, under the Kla- 
math project of the United States Reclamation Service, certain lands now having 
the character of marshes were ceded by the States of Oregon and California to the 
United States for the purpose of reclamation by the Reclamation Service. 

Some additional authority is needed to remove doubts about the matter of return 
of the funds expended for this purpose, and I have the honor to transmit herewith 
provisions which sliould be inserted in the pending bill for this purpose under the 
head of "Reclamation Service, Klamath project." 
It is respectfully recommended that the insertion be therein made. 
Cordially, yours, 

Franklin K. Lane, Secretary. 

draft op bill. 

A HILL To restore to the public domain certain lands heretofore reserved for a bird reservation in Siskiyou 
and Modoc Counties, California, and Klamath County, Oregon, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled. That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he hereby is, author- 
ized and directed to determine and make public announcement of what lands, in and 
around Little or Lower Klamath Lake, in Siskiyou Ciuntv, California, and in Klamath 
County, Oregon, ceded to the United States by the State of California by the act 
entitled "An act authorizing the United States Government to lower the water levels 
of any or all of the following lakes: Lower or Little Klamath Lake, Tule or Rhett 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 11 

Lake, Goose Lake, and Clear Lake, situated in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, and to 
use any part or all of the beds of said lakes for the storage of water in connection with 
the irrigation and reclamation operations conducted by the Reclamation Seryice of 
the United State=!; also ceding to the United States all right, title, interest, or claim 
of the State of California to any lands uncoyered by the lowering of the water leyels 
of any or all of said lakes not already disposed of by the State," and ceded to the 
United States by the State of Oregon by an act entitled "An act to authorize the 
utilization of Upper Klamath Lake, Lower or Little Klamath Lake, and Tule or 
Rhett Lake, situate in Klamath County, Oregon, and Goose Lake, situate in Lake 
County, Oregon, in connection with the irrigation and reclamation operations of the 
Reclamation Seryice of the United States, and to cede to the United States all the 
right, title, interest, and claim of the State of Oregon to any and all lands recoyered 
by the lowering of the water leyels or by the drainage of amy or all of said lakes," 
will eyentually be uncoyered and opened to agricultural deyelopment by the lowering 
of the water leyel of said lake. Title to all said lands can be acquired by homestead 
entry under the general homestead laws and the proyisions of this act and not other- 
wise: Provided, That all said lands shall foreyer be and remain subject to the right 
of the United States (a) to oyerflow the same or any part thereof for the purposes of 
irrigation by. such systems of reseryoirs and drainage and dyking as now actually 
exists or may be hereafter constructed in Siskiyou County, California, and Klamath 
County, Oregon, and (b) to drain the water therefrom. All patents issued for the said 
lands shall expressly reserye to the United States such right of oyerflow and drainage. 

Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Interior shall also determine and make public announce- 
ment of the proportionate part of the sum of $283,225, heretofore expended from the 
reclamation fund in connection with the Klamath project, Oregon-California, that 
in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior each acre of the said land should be 
assessed, and the proportionate part that each acre of priyately owned land similarly 
situated to the said lands hereby affected, should be assessed, to retiu-n to said recla- 
mation fund in all the said sum of $283,22.5. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and 
directed to cause said lands to be siu-yeyed and opened to entry under the general 
homestead laws and the provisions of this act: Provided, That none of said lands 
shall be opened to entry until the Secretary of the Interior shall haye first made 
arrangement with the owners of lands in priyate ownership, similarly situated to the 
lands hereby affected, for the payment into the reclamation fund of the proportionate 
part of said sum of $283,225, determined and apportioned by the Secretary of the 
Interior against said priyately owned lands as provided in section two. 

Sec. 4. That, in addition to all payments required by the general homestead 
laws, there shall be paid by homestead entrymen the amount per acre assessed as 
proyidfcd in section two of this act. Said payments shall be made in annual install- 
ments of $1 per acre, except the last installment, which may be a fraction of a dollar: 
Provided, That the whole or any part of the amount so assessed may be paid by the 
entryman in a shorter period if he so elects. The first installment shall be paid at the 
time homestead application is filed and subsequent installments shall be due and pay- 
able on December first of each calendar year thereafter until the entire sum so assessed 
and apportioned against the lands is paid, and patent shall not issue for any of said 
lands until the sum so apportioned against said lands shall haye been fully paid. 
Failm-e to pay any installment when due shall render the entry subject to cancella- 
tion, with a forfeiture of all moneys paid. All installments shall draw interest, at the 
rate of eight per centum per annum, from their due date until paid. All moneys 
paid on account of such assessments shall, without diminution of any kind whatsoeyer, 
be covered into the reclamation fund. 

Sec. 5. In all cases where actual application to make homestead entry was made for 
any of said lands prior to March first, nineteen hundred and seyenteeu, such appli- 
cants shall haye a preference and prior right to enter and file on said lands under the 
homestead laws and provisions of this act for the period of sixty days following the 
time said lands are opened to entry. 

Sec. 6. That no rights to make entry shall attach by reason of settlement or squatting 
upon any of the lauds hereby restored before the hour on which such lands shall be 
subject to homestead entry at the land office, and until said lands are opened for settle- 
ment and entry as herein provided no person shall enter upon and occupy the same, 
and any person violating this provision shall never be permitted to enter any of said 
lands. 

Sec. 7. That the Secretary of the Interior shall determine which of the lands now 
within the boundaries of the Klamath Lake Bird Reserve are chiefly valuable for 



12 RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

agiiciiltural purposes, and which fur the purposes of said reservation, and shall open 
to homestead entry those lands which are chiefly valuable for agricultural purposes: 
Provided, That the shore line of the lake, including the smallest legal subdivision of 
land adjoining the flow line, shall remain in the possession of the United States, but 
access may be provided to the lake for such canals as may be necessary for irrigation, 
drainage, and domestic water supply. 

Sec. 8. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to perform any and 
all acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for 
the purpose of carrying the pro\dsions of this act into full force and effect. 

The land invoh'ed in the present legislation grows out of the legislation of the States 
of California and Oregon regarding this land, wherein it is ceded to the Government of 
the United States for reclamation purposes and such cession accepted by the United 
States, which legislation above referred to is as follows: 

CHANGING LEVELS OF LAKES IN CALIFORNIA AND OREGON. 

AN ACT Authorizing tlie changmg of the levels of certain lakes and the disposal of certain lands un- 
der the terms of the national reclamation act. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized in carry- 
ing out any irrigation project that may be undei taken by him under the terms and 
conditions of the national reclamation act and which may involve the changing of the 
levels of Lower or Little Klamath Lake, Tule or Rhett Lake, and Goose Lake, or any 
river or other body of water connected therewith, in the States of Oregon and Cali- 
fornia to raise or lower the level of said lakes as may be necessary and to dippose of any 
lands which may come into the possession of the United States as a result thereof by 
cession of any State or otherwise under the terms and conditions of the national recla- 
mation act. 

Approved, February 9, 1905. (33 Stat. L., 714.) 

ACT OF CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATURE. 

AN ACT Aiithonzmg the United States Government to lower the water levels of any or all of the following 
lakes: Lower or Little Klamath Lake, Tule or Rhett Lake, Goose Lake, and Clear Lake, situated in 
Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, and to use any part or all of the beds of said lakes for the storage of water 
in connection with the irrigation and reclaniafion operations conducted by the Reclamation Service of 
the Umted States: also ceding to the United States all right, title, interest, or claim of the State of Cali- 
fornia to any lands imcovered by the lowering of the water levels of any or all of said lakes not already 
disposed of by the State. 

The people of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as 

follows: 

Section 1. That for the purpose of aiding in the operations of irrigation and recla- 
mation conducted by the Reclamation Service of the United States, established by the 
act of Congress approved .June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two (thirty-second 
Statutes, page three hundred and eighty-eight), known as the reclamation act, the 
United States is hereby authorized to lower the water levels of any or all of the follow- 
ing lakes: Lower or Little Klamath Lake, Tule or Rhett Lake, Goose Lake, and Clear 
Lake, situated in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, as shown l)y the map of the United 
States Geological Survey, and to use any part or all of the Ijeds of said lakes for the 
storage of water in connection with such operations. 

Sec. 2. And there is hereby ceded to the United States all the right, title, interest, 
or claim of this State to any lands uncovered by the lowering of the water levels of any 
or all of said lakes not already disposed of by this State; and the lands hereby ceded 
may be disposed of by the United States free of any claim on the part of this State in 
any manner that may lie deemed advisa])le t)y the authorized agencies of the United 
States in pursuance of the provisions of said reclamation act: Provided, That this act 
shall not l)e in effect as to lakes herein named, which lie i)aitly in the State of Oregon, 
until a similar cession has been made by that State. 

Approved, February 3, 1905. (Cal. Stats., 1905, p. 4.) 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 13 

ACT OP OREGON STATE LEGISLATURE. 

AN ACT To authorize the utilization of Upper Klamath Lake, Lower or Little Klaraal h Lake, and Tule or 
Rhett I^ake, situate in Klamath County, Oregon, and (ioose Lake, situate in I>ake County, Oregon, in 
connection with the irrigation and reclamation operations of the Reclamation Service of the United 
States, and to cede to the United States all the right, title, interest, and claim of the State of Oregon to 
any and all lands recovered by the lowering of tlie water levels or by the drainage of any or all of said 
lakes. 

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon and be it enacted by the 
people of the State of Oregon: 

Section 1. That for the purpose of aiding in the operations of irrigation and reclama- 
tion conducted by the Reclamation Service of the United States, established by the 
act of Congress approved June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two (Thirty-second 
Statutes, page three hundred and eighty-eight), known as the reclamation act, the 
United States is hereby authorized to lower the water level of Upper Klamath Lake, 
situate in Klamath County, Oregon, and to lower the water level of or to drain any or 
all of the following lakes: Lower or Little Klamath Lake and the Tule or Rhett Lake, 
situate in Kltuaath County, Oregon, and Goose Lake, situate in Lake County, Oregon, 
and to use any part or all of the beds of said lakes for the storage of water in connection 
with such operations. 

Sec. 2. That there be, and hereby is, ceded to the United States all the right, title, 
interest, or claim of this State to any land uncovered by the lowering of the water 
level or by the drainage of any or all of said lakes not already disposed of by the State; 
and the lands hereby ceded may be disposed of by the United States, free of any claim 
on the part of this State in any manner that may be deemed advisable by its authorized 
agencies, in pursuance of the provisions of said reclamation act. 

Approved January 20, 1905. (General Laws of Oregon, 1905, p. 63.) 

The land involved is public land of the United States and is suliject to disposition 
as such by the Government. 

Hon. Will R. King, chief counsel of the Reclamation Service, in his opinion of date 
March21, 1917, sio held in his opinion and letter to Hon. A. P. Davis, Director and Chief 
Engineer, United States Reclamation Service, which letter and opinion are as follows: 

March 16, 1917. 
Chief Counsel United States Reclamation Service, 

Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: I am unofficially informed that the attorney general of the State of Cali- 
fornia in an opirion relative to the unsegregated swamp and overflowed lands around 
Klamath Lake holds in effect that the only land ceded to the United States by the act 
of the California Legislature of March 3, 1905, consists of the land lying within the pre- 
cipitous banks which would l)e uncovered by the lowering of the waters of the lake 
through works of reclamation by the Federal Government, and that the land lying 
between the precipitous banks of the lake and high land was unsegregated swamp and 
overflowed land and belongs to the State of California, notwithstanding the act of the 
California Legislature. 

If this is true with reference to the lands in California, I assume the same rule of 
law would he true respecting like lands across the line in Oregon ceded by a like act 
of the Legislature of Oregon to the United States. 

Will you kindly give the Reclamation Commission a written opinion of your views 
on this subject? 

Sincerely, yours, 

A. P. Davis, 
Director and Chief Engineer . 



March 21, 1917. 
Hon. A. P. Davis, 

Chairman Reclamation Commission, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Mr. Davis: I have before me your letter asking for an opinion as to the 
effect of the acts of California and Oregon Legislatures of 1905 granting to the United 
States certain lands in the States mentioned around Klamath, Tule, and other lakes, 
near the boundary line between the two States. 

The Oregon act, which is practically a duplicate of the California act on the same 
subject, reads: 

"Section 1. That for the purpose of aiding in the operations of irrigation and rec- 
lamation conducted by the Reclamation Service of the United States, established 
by the act of Congress approved June 17, 1902 (32 Stat., 388), known as the reclama- 



14 RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

tion act, the United States is hereby authorized to lower the wate^ level of Upper 
Klamath Lake, situate in Klamath County, Oreg., and to lower the water level of, 
or to drain any or all of the following lakes: Lower or Little Klamath Lake and the 
Tule or Rhett Lake, situate in Klamath County, Oreg., and the Goose Lake, situated 
in Lake County, Oreg. , and to use any part or all of the beds of said lakes for the storage 
of water in connection with such operations. 

"Sec. 2. That there be, and hereby is, ceded to the United States all the right, 
title, interest, or claim of this State to any land uncovered by the lowering of the 
water levels, or by the drainage of any or all of said lakes not already disposed of by 
the State; and the lands hereby ceded may be disposed of by the United States, free 
of any claim on the part of this State in any manner that may be deemed advisable 
by its authorized agencies, in pursuance of the provisions of said reclamation act. " 

The history surrounding and leading up to the enactment of these laws clearly shows 
the purpose for which the laws were enacted, that is to say, to enable the Reclamation 
Service, under the act of Congress approved June 17, 1902, to take whatever course its 
engineers, as approved by the Secretary of the Interior, might deem advisable looking 
toward the reclamation by irrigation, drainage, or otherwise of the lands in the vicinity 
of the lakes mentioned in the respective acts. It was then undetermined whether the 
lakes would be drained and the beds thereof and the uncovered lands used for farming 
or whether by damming the lakes their water levels would be raised and thus cover 
more lands. 

It clearly comes within the reason and spirit of these acts to hold that it was intended 
thereby that the Reclamation Service might take whatever course might be deemed 
most feasible and that the States of California and Oregon, respectiA'ely, intended to 
cede to the United States all lands to which they held title that might be necessary 
for and that might aid in the carrying out of the purposes of the reclamation act as 
construed or to be construed by the Department of Labor. 

These acts contain no language, either express or implied, or under any rules of 
statutory construction, which, in my judgment, will permit of a holding to the effect 
that the purpose thereof was to limit the land thus intended to be ceded to that lying 
within the precipitous banks that might be uncovered by the lowering of the waters 
of the lake by means of Federal reclamation work. The purpose of these acts was to 
permit the United States to drain the entire lake, if it decided to do so, and to convey 
the title to all lands covered by water whether outside or inside such banks, or if the 
lake should be obstructed by a dam to permit the covering up entirely of all lands 
owned by the State under or surrounding such lakes. In section 2 of the act it is 
stated in express words that there is ceded to the United States all right, title, interest, 
or claim of the State "to any land uncovered by the lowering of the water levels or 
by the drainage of any or all of said lakes not already disposed of by the State. " This 
language is so clear that it is subject to no other interpretation than as I have stated. 

The language that "there be, and hereby is, ceded," etc., constitutes what is 
termed by the courts a grant in prsesenti — that is to say, the title passed immedi- 
ately upon the approval of said acts, leaving the question as to what lands were 
thus granted to be determined by ascertaining what lands belonging to the State 
would be covered or uncovered, aa the case might be, or a question of fact only. 
The test of the ownership of the lands belonging to the State at the time of the enact- 
ment of these laws, and thereby the test of what rights were granted to the United 
State's would be to determine the specific lands which in ordinary high water would 
be inundated. 

My view of the law is that absolute title to these lands is in the United States and 
that the title does not depend on whether the United States should either build or 
complete a project which it had in view or was considering at the time these laws 
were enacted. 

There was no "condition precedent" to the effect that the lakes must either be 
drained or used as a reservoir before the title would pass. 
Sincerely, yours, 

Will R. King, Chief Counsel. 

There are approximately 54,000 acres involved in the irrigation and reclamation 
of this project. Of this, 27,000 are in California and 27,000 are in Oregon. The 
27,000 acres in California are all public lands by virtue of the above legislation. Of 
the 27,000 acres in Oregon, about 7,000 are public lands for the same reason and 20,000 
acres privately owned. The privately owned lands referred to in section 3 of the 
act and known as the "marsh lands" are all situated in Oregon, and have been dis- 
posed of by the Reclamation Service in regard to irrigation and drainage and pay- 
ment of the amount in their proper proportion due the Government of the $283,225, 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 15 

with the marph-land claimant under contract, carrjdng out fully the provisions of 
section 3 of the act, of date the 30th day of November, 1917, which contract is as 
follows : 

This agreement, made and entered into this 30th day of November, 1917, in pur- 
suance of the act of Congress of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat., 388), and acts amendatory 
thereof and supplementary thereto, between the United States of America, here- 
inafter styled the United States, acting in this behalf by J. B. Bond, project manager, 
U. S. Reclamation Service, thereunto duly authorized, and the Klamath Drainage 
District, a public corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State 
of Oregon, with its principal place of business at Klamath Falls, Oregon, hereinafter 
styled the district, 

Witnesseth, that — 

Whereas the district proposes to reclaim by a process of drainage, evaporation, 
and irrigation all of the lands within said district, consisting of approximately 27.000 
acres and being part of the marsh or swamp lands lying within or adjacent to what 
is generally known as Lower Klamath Lake, in Klamath County, Oregon, and Sis- 
kiyou County, California, east of the right of wav of the California Northeastern 
Railway as iit crosses said marsh or swamp lands, including a total area of approxi- 
mately 54,000 acres; atid 

Whereas said Lower Klamath Lake is at certain seasons of the year fed with water 
from the Klamath River thi'ough a certain waterway or channel known and herein 
designated as Klamath Strait, which passes under said railroad and through its 
embankment by means of an opening or culvert, which said opening or culvert has 
been so constructed as to permit the placing of gates therein for the purpose of control- 
ling the flow of water through the same; and 

Whereas the method of reclamation proposed by said district contemplates the 
closing of the gates in said Klamath Strait so as to exclude or control the further flow 
of water from the Klamath River into said Lower Klamath Lake and thereby to facili- 
tate the reclamation of the lands mentioned ; and 

Whereas there are certain owners of marsh or swamp lands within or bordering on 
said Lower Klamath Lake who claim or may claim to have certain rights in or to the 
waters of said lake either as riparian owners or as appropriators of water therefrom, and 
particularly the Van Brimmer Ditch Co., which has, or claims to have, a vested water 
right in said lake of 50 second-feet, which is now, and for many years has been, accord- 
ing to said company's claim, used for the irrigation of lands under its irrigation system, 
which rights may be affected by the lowering of the water level of said lake by the 
closing of the gates in said Klamath Strait and all of which possible rights or claims 
must be taken into consideration in connection with the proposal to close the gates 
aforesaid; and 

WTiereas it is economically practicable to supply the said Van Brimmer Ditch 
Co. the quantity of water necessary for the proper irrigation of the lands under and 
irrigable through its system from the Government's irrigation system known as the 
Klamath project in lieu of the supply heretofore had and used by said company from 
Lower Klamath Lake by adopting the distribution system of the Ivlamath project to 
such a plan ; and 

Whereas the United States has heretofore expended sums of money, aggregating 
$253,225, in making investigations as to the practicability and desu-ability of reclaim- 
ing said marsh or swamp lands and in the building of irrigation works for the storage, 
diversion, development, and drainage of waters lying, being, and flowing in and about 
said Klamath project looking toward such reclamation and to the closing of Klamath 
Strait in connection therewith, and the United States has not been reimbursed for 
said expenditures or any part thereof ; and 

Whereas the district, in furtherance of its purpose to accomplish the reclamation of 
its lands, as aforesaid, desii'es the United States to close or operate the gates in said 
Klamath Strait so as to prevent or regulate the further flow of the waters of the Klamath 
River on to said lands or into Lower Klamath Lake: 

Now, therefore, in consideration of the premises and of the promises and covenants 
herein contained to be kept and performed, it is mutually covenanted and agreed 
between the parties hereto as follows: 

1. The district agrees to deliver to the United States, simultaneously with the 
execution of this contract, duly executed waivers, in form satisfactory to the United 
States, from all riparian owners of lands in Oregon bordering on said Lower Klamath 
Lake, waiving claim or claims for any and all damages resulting or that may result, 
or be claimed to have resulted, to said lands, or to their owners, their heirs or assigns, 
by reason of said gates in Ivlamath Strait being closed. Waivers similar in purpose and 
form shall also be secured by the district from the said Van Brimmer Ditch Co. and 
delivered to the United States as hereinabove provided, together with a similar 



16 RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

waiA'er executed by and on behalf of the district, all of which said iraivers snail be 
recorded by and at the expense of the district within the county in which the respective 
lands lie. 

2. It is understood and agreed that should the reclamation of said district lands in 
the manner herein contemplated prove impracticable or be not accomplished in rea- 
sonable compliance with the provisions hereof or interfert with the proper reclama- 
tion or use of public lands and it should be deemed by the United States necessary 
or desirable for the purpose of reclaiming or best utiliziniL the pu))lic lands within 
said marsh or swamp land area, as contemplated bjr the Oregon act of .Tanuai-y 20, 
1905 (General Laws of Oregon. 1905. p. 63), and the California act of February 3,' 1905 
(CaUfornia Statutes, 1905, p. 4), to flood or overflow the same and to that end to open 
or regulate the gates in said Klamath Strait, the district will release, and hereby does 
release, and waive any and all claims for damages against the United States resulting, 
or that may be claimed to have resulted, to district lands by reason of their being 
returned on account of the opening of said gates to their normal condition as of the 
date hereof, or otherwise, it being the intention that the district shall protect and 
save harmless the United States against claims of any kind which may arise from 
owners of or claimants to district lands on account of the execution of this agreement. 

3. The district covenants, promises, and agi-ees to pay to the United States, through 
the proper officer thereof duly designated to receive such payment, simultaneously 
with the execution of this contract, the sum of twenty-three thou.sand five hundred 
dollars ($23,500) in cash, to cover the cost incurred or that may be incurred liy the 
United States in adapting the distribution svstem of the Klamath project frr the 
delivery of a water sxipply of fifty (50) second-feet each season to the Van Brimmer 
Ditch Company in lieu of its present water right in that quantity in Lower Klamath 
Lake. 

4. It is understood and agreed that the fifty (50) 8?cond-feet of water to be furnished 
the Van Brimmer Ditch Company from the Klamath project, as hereinabove provided 
for, shall be delivered by ths United States to the Van Brimmer Ditch ("orapany at 
the point where the canal known as the "South Branch Canal" of the Klamath project 
intersects the canal known as the "North Lateral" of the system of the Van Brimmer 
Ditch Company, said point of intersection being near the northwest corner of the 
NE. 1 of S2C. 5, T. 41 S., R. 10 E., W. M., and that the United States Anil construct 
and install one turnout on each side of said "South Branch Canal" at said point of 
intersection for delivery of water to said company, said turnouts to be and remain the 
property of the United States, its successors and assigns, and subject to operation and 
control exclusively by them. 

5. It is further understood and agreed that for the purposes of this agreement the 
irrigation season during which water shall be furnished to the Van Brimmer Ditch 
Company as herein provided for shall be considered as extending from ]\Iay first to 
October fifteenth, inclusive, of each >ear: Provided, That at the option of the United 
States water may be delivered to said company as earH as April fifteenth in any year 
upon written request to the United States by the duly authorized representative of 
the company. 

(5. The district covenants, promises, and agrees to assume and pa.v, and to that 
end hereby binds itself, its lands, and propprty of every character, that proportion 
of the total txpenditures heretofore madt or to be made b.v or on benalf of the L^nited 
Statf s in connection with the proposed reclamation of Lower Klamath Lake marsh or 
swamp lands, including; th« $23,500 named in parogi-aph 3 hereof and an additional 
sum of $30,000 (being an agreed capitalization of the annual charges for the operation 
and maintenance oi: the canals and structurt s m cessarv for the d livery of the above- 
mentioned fifty (50) second-feet of water to the Van Brimmer Ditch Company), 
herein agreed to be $283,225, that the total acreage of private or patented land included 
in said district, estimated at 20,000 acres, bears to the total acreage of said marsh or 
swamp lands A\ithin or marginal to LoAver Klamath Lake, es imated a1 54,000 acres, 
being 20/54 of $283,225, or ithe sum of $104,898.15, which said sum shall be paid to 
the United States, its successors or assigns, as follows: $23,500.00 on the execution 
of this contract; $2,777.78 on Decemlier 1. 1918; $2,777.78 on December 1, 1919; 
$2,777.78 on December 1, 1920; $2,777.78 on Dectmber 1, 1921; $4,636.03 on Decem- 
ber 1, 1926; $6,565.10 on December 1, 1927; $6,565.10 on December 1, 1928; 
$6,565:10 on December 1, 1929; $6,565.10 on December 1, 1930; $6,565.10 on Decem- 
ber 1, 1931; $6,565.10 on December 1, 1932; $6,565.10 on December 1, 1933; 
$6,565.10 on December 1, 1934; $6,565 10 on December 1, 1935; $6,565.10 on Decem- 
ber 1, 1936. The district also agrees to pay interest at the rate of eight per cent (8 
per cent) per annum from the due date until paid on any and all payments accruing 
under the terms hereof and nn-' paid when due. If it is ultimately determined that 
the total area of private or patented lands within the district exceeds 20,000 acres, 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 17 

as estimatad at the date hereof, then the district agrees to pay upon such excess area 
a« the same rate per acre as is hereby fixed for said 20,000 acres, such paymen. to he 
made with the final annual installment hereunder. 

7. The United States covenants and agrees that iii)on the delivery 1o it hy the 
flistrict of the waivers against claims for damages as liereiuaboAe ]:)rovided and the^ 
payment by the district of the sum of twenty-three thousand fi^e hundred dollars 
(■'^23.500), and upon the execution and approval of this contract the Tnited States will 
cause the gates in said Klamath' Strait to be closed and to be kept closed, except as 
herein otherwise ])rovided. during the continuance of Ibis contract, l)arring acts of 
(lod and unavoidable accidents beyond the control of the Tnited States; provided 
that the material and labor necessary for the closing thereof shall Ije provided by and 
at the expense of said district, the same to be installed under the direction of the 
project manager: provided further, that the United States shall have and retain the 
right to open said gates at the times and in the manner prescribed and contemplated 
by paragraph 2 hereof free from claim or claims for damages by reason thereof: pro- 
vided further, that should it at any time become advisable or necessary in the judg- 
ment of the di-^trict to con\'ey water through said gates in connection with the recla- 
mation of its lands the control of said gates shall in such case 1)e under regulations 
prescribed by the United States. 

8. It is further understood and agreed that the al)solute and complete control of 
.said gates in Klamath Strait shall he and remain in the United States until full and 
complete payment to the United States has been made of tlie said sum of $28:>,225, 
with any accrued interest, whereupon control thereof may be surrendered by the 
United States upon such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed upon by 
the United States and the occuj^jants and owners of a majority of said 54,000 acres as 
herein designated . 

9. It is further understood and agreed that the United States shall not he obligated 
to construct any portion of the system required for the irrigation or drainage of said, 
or any. marsh or swamp lands, nor to operate or maintain such work^, nor to expenrl 
any further siims toward the reclamation of said marsh or swamp lands, nor does the 
United States assume any responsibility for the success of their reclamation. 

10. This contract shall he binding on the parties hereto only upon the appro\al 
hereof by the Director of the [Tnited States Reclamation Service. 

11. No interest in this agreement shall be transferred by the di^tric't to any other 
party without th(^ written consent of the United States, and any sucJi transfer shall 
cause annulment of the contract, so far as the United States is concerned: all rights 
of action, however, for breach of this contract are reserved to the United States, as 
provided by section 3737, Revised Statutes of the United States. 

12. No Member of or Delegate to Congress or Resident Commissioner, after his 
election or appointment, either before or after he has qualilied and during his contin- 
uance in oliice, and no ofticer, agent, or employee of the Government, shall be admit- 
ted to any share or part of this contract or agreement, or to any Iteneht to arise there- 
upon. Nothing, however, herein contained shall be construed to extend to any incor- 
porated company, where such contract or agreement is made for the general beneht 
of such incorporation or company, as provided in section 11 (i of the act of Congress 
approved March 4, 1909. (35 Stat. L., 1109.) 

13. In witness whereof this instrument has been executed on behalf of the Klamath 
drainage district by its duly elected, qualified, and acting president and secretary, 
respectively, thereunto duly authorized by resolution of its board of supervisors dated 
November 13th, 1917, a certified copy of which is hereto attached, and on behalf of 
the United States of America by its duly authorized officer the day and year first 
above written. 

Signed, sealed, and delivered in the 
jTresence of us as witnesses: 

E. V. HiLLius. United States op America, 

C. C. HoGUE. ■ ByJ. B.Bond. 

[seal.] , Klamath Drainage District, 

E. y. HiLLius. By M. Motschexbacher, 

President. 

C. C. HoGUE. By A. A. Mehaffey, Secretary. 
Approved, December 19, 1917. 



Morris Bien, 
Acting Director, U. S. E. S. 



H. Kept. 402,66—1 -2. 



18 RESTOEATIOX AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

State op Oregon, 

County of Klamath, ss: 

This certifies that on this 80th day of Xovember, 1917, before me, the undersigned, 
C. ('. Hogue, a notary ])ublic in and for said county and State, personally appeared 
the within named M. Motschenbacher and A. A. Mehaffey, president and secretary, 
respectively, of the within named Klamath drainage district, a corporation, and they 
being known to me to be such officers and the identical persons described in and who 
executed the within instrument for and on behalf of the said corporation, and said 
corporation being known to me to be the identical cor]ioration for and on whose 
behalf the said instrument was executed, and said M. Motschenbacher and A. A. 
ilehaffey did then and there acknowledge to me that they did as such officers as in 
this certificate de-*cribed execute the said instrument as and for the act and deed of 
said corporation in whose name and behalf they executed said instrument, and 
affixed thereto the corj)orate seal of said corporation, under authority in them vested 
by the board of supervisors of said corporation. 

Witness my hand and notarial seal the day and year last afore.^aid. 

[seal.] C. 0. Hogue, 

Notarij Piihlk for Oregon. 

My commission expires Aj^ril 22, 1921. 



OATH OF DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

[Sec. 374.3, U. S. Rev. Stat.] 

I do solemnly swear that the copy of contract hereunto annexed is an exact copy 
of contract made by me ]:)ersonally wth Klamath drainage district, that I made the 
same fairly, without any benefit or advantage to myself, or allowing any such benefit 
or advantage corruptly to the said Klamath drainage district, or any other person; 
and that the papers accompanying include all those relating to the said contract, as 
required by the statute in such case made and provided. 

J. V>. Bond, 
J'roject Manaqir, U. S. Reclamation Service. 

Sworn to and -^ubscril)ed before me, at Klamath I'alls, Oreg., this 30th day of 
A'ovember, 1917. 

C. C. IIOGUE, 

Notary Public for Oregon. 
My commis,><ion expires April 22, 1921. 



Klamath I^'alls, Oreg., Xomnhcr -iO, 1917. 
State of Orechjx. 

CoiDilfi of KlainatJ/. .s.v.- 
1. A. .V. Mehaffey. o^' Ihe lioard of supervisors of the Klamath Drainage District. 
Klamath County. Oreg.. do hereliy certify that the following is a true copy of a reso- 
lution adopted "by the l)oar(l of supervisors of the Klamath Drainage District, and is 
'of record in the minutes of a meeting of said l)oard of su])ervisors lield at the office 
■of said Klamath Drainage District in the city of Klamath Falls. Oreg., on the 10th 
<lay of Xoveml)er. 1917; 

''Be it rcsolred l)y the board of su])ervisors of the Klamath Drainage District of 
Klamath County. Oreg.. that the president and secretary of the l>oard of supervisors 
of the Klamath Drainage District be. and they are hereljy. authorized and directed 
to execute a waiver waiving all claims for damages against the I'nited States of 
.Vmcrica. its succcs.-iors and assigns, that may have been or may hereafter he caused 
In the Klamath Drainage District, either directly or indirectij»-. by the closing, or 
sultsecpient opening ol the fioodgates in Klamath Strait as it ])asses through the 
railroad embankment forming the dike across Lower Klamath Lake marshlands, in 
lownsliij) 40 .^outli. range S east, Willamette meridian. Oregon." 
[seal.] a. a. Mehaffey, 

Secretary of the Board of Super risors 

of the Klamath Draiiuuir District. 



RE.STOr.ATIOX AND EESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 19 

KrAMATii I''ai,i.s, ((rec. XDi'ciiiIx'r .id, 1U17. 
State of Orkoon. 

Count u ofKImnnih . a. : 
I, A. A. Melwfl'cy, soeretary of the l)oar(l of tiU])('i'\i'^ors of the Kluniath Drainage 
District, Khuuath Coiinty. Greg., do herel)y certify that tlio I'ollowiiiii- is a true copy 
of a res^ohition a(lo})to(l hy the board of .sujiervisors of .^aid Klainatli Drainage District, 
and that it is of record in tlie minutes of a meeting of said l)oard of supervisors hehl 
at the office of said KUimath Drainage District in the city of Klamath Falls. Oreg., 
on the 13th day of November. 1917: 

■ ' \\ hereas the owners of the lands within the boundaries of the Klamatli Draijiage Dis- 
trict, of Klamath < 'ounty. Greg., at an election held on the 31st day of October. 1917, 
unanimously approved and authorized the creation of an indebtedness amounting 
to the sum of ^111.387.90 for the purpose of carrying out the "plan of reclamation' 
heretofore adopted by the board of supervisors and approved by the coujity court 
of Klamath County. Oreg.. and 
"Whereas the 'plan of reclamation' provides in part for damming the flow from 
Klamath River into the strait': Now, therefore, be it 
""Resolved. That tlie board of supervisors of the Klamath Drainage District do 
hereby authorize a.nd instruct the president and secretary of said board to execute a 
contract with the Ignited >States of America for •damming the flow from Klamath 
River into the strait' by closing the openings in the head-gate structure in the 
California-Northeastern (now Southern Pacific) Railroad embankment where it 
crosses the said strait at Ad}', Oreg. A' draft of said contract was submitted by the 
I'nited States and adopted by said board of supervisors and made a ]iart of the minutes 
of a meeting held by said board on the 25th day of July. 1917." 
(skat,.] a. a. Meuafiey, 

Serreliirii of the Board ofSupeniso?;^ 

of (he Klamatli Drainage District. 

Klamath Falls. Okeo.. November 30, 1917. 
State of Oregon. 

County of Klamath, ss: 

I, A. A. Mehaffey. secretary of the board of supervisors of the Klamath drainage 
district, do hereby certify that the following is a true copy of the action of the board 
of supervisors of the Klamath drainage district relative to the levy of a tax to cover the 
amount named in a contract between the said district and the United States of America, 
said levy Ijeing in accordance with the provisions of chapter 180, General Laws of 
Oregon, 1917, all of wliicli appears in the minutes of a meeting of said board of super- 
visors held on the 20th day of Septemlier, 1917. 

"The matter of the levying of sufHcient tax of the necessary portion of benefits on 
all the lands in the district to which benefits have been assessed, now coming before 
the board, and it appearing to this board that the sum of $104,898.15 will be required 
as payment to the Government of the United States of America for the closing of the 
gates under the raih'oad embankment leading into Klamath Straits, and that an 
additional amount for emergencies under the provisions of section 17 of chapter 340 
of the General Laws of Oregon for 1915, the aggregate of whicli amounts to approxi- 
mately $115,387.96, tlie following resolution was adopted: 

'Be it rescdved by the board of supervisors of the Klamath drainage district of Kla- 
math County, Oreg.: That a tax of $5.77 per acre be, and the same is hereby, assessed 
against the lands within the boundaries of the Klamath drainage district to wliich 
benefits have been assessed under the decree of the countj^ court of the State of Oregon 
for Klamath County, modifying and amending the report of the commissioners hereto- 
fore appointed to assess such Ijenefits, the said levy being necessary to pay the costs 
of the completion of the proposed works and improvements as shown in said ' plan of 
reclamation- lieretofore adopted and approved by the county court of the State of 
Otegon for Klamath County, and in carrying out the objects of said district. The 
foregoing tax to be apportioned to and levied upon each tract of land in said district 
in proportion to the benefits assessed, and the Secretary of the board be, and he is 
herel)y, directed to at once prepare a list of all taxes levied and enter same in a book 
which shall l)e indorsed and named a 'drainage tax record of Klamath drainage dis- 
trict,' said l)Ook to be properly signed and certified to and the seal of the district to be 
attached to same in accordance with the provisions of section 17, chaiJter 340, of the 
General Laws of Oregon for 1915." 

[.SEAL.] A. A. Mehaffey, 

Secretary of the Board of S u pervisors of the 
Klamath Drainage District, Klamath County, Oreg. 



20 RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

Klamath Falls, Oreg., Nove'^er SO, 1917, 
State of Oregon, 

County of Klamath , ss : 

I, A. A. Mehaffey, secretary of the board of super^•^sors of the Klamath chaiiiage 
district, of Klamath ('ountJ^ Oreg., do hereby certify that the following is a true copy 
of a motion duly adopted liy the board of supervisors of the Klamath drainage district, 
and is of record in the minutes of a meeting of said board of supervisors, held at the office 
of said Klamath drainage district, in the city of Klamath Falls, Oreg., on the 25th 
day of July, 1917. Also the action of the said board relative to the plan of reclamation 
adopted , said action l^eing taken at the meeting aforesaid . ■ ' After consideration of the 
methods of reclamation recommended in the engineer's report, the l.oard by motion 
regularly made, seconded and unanimously carried, adopted recommendation No. 2. 
to wit, by damming the flow from Klamath River into the strait and allowing the water 
in the lake to evaporate." 

"On motion duly made, seconded and carried, the board accepted an agreement 
presented by the United States in which, for a consideration of $104,8!^)8.1o, to be paid 
by the Klamath drainage district, the United States agrees to dam the flow of water 
from the Klamath River into the Klamath Strait as recommended in the district 
engineers' report. The said agreement is hereto attached and made a part of these 
minutes." 

[seal.] a. a. ]Mehaffey, 

Sccrcturij of the Board oj Supervisors oj the 

Klamath Drainage District. 

This contract was made and entered into in contemplation of this act becoming a 
law, so as to dispose of the entire 54,000 acres involved in the project. 

The public-owned lands are to be disposed of under the provisions of the bill, and 
the Government will be fully repaid for all the money expended, namely, $283,225. 
The land will be open to homestead settlement — reserved for actual and l)ona fide 
settlers — under the provisions of the bill. The land is also covered by bird reserve 
under Executive order of date August 8, 1908, as amended under second Executive 
order of date May 15, 1915. The bird reserve is provided for and fully protected under 
the provisions of the bill. 

After a full investigation by the departments (which is concurred iu by your com- 
mittee), it is determined that the amount of land involved in this bill — 34,000 acres of 
public lands fit for homesteading by c}ualified homesteaders for agricultural purpose 
and use — can be used ])y actual bona fide homestead settlers and at the same time 
fully and amply protect the bird reserve by retaining sufficient tracts of land around 
the borders of the lake and the water in the lake at a sufficient height so as to give 
ample and sufficient breeding groimds for birds and at the same time to get the highest 
use of such of the lands which may be susceptible of homesteading, and therefore 
agriculture. 

The object and purpose of the bill is such that the bird reserve will be preserved and 
the breeding ground for native birds protected, and the 34,000 acres of land susceptible 
of agriculture will be reserved and made subject for immediate use and for the benefit 
of actual and bona fide settlers. An early and favorable disposition by Congress of 
this legislation will authorize the Secretary of the Interior to act, and permit most if 
not all of the land to be used this year by homesteaders. 

The committee, after hearing the presentation of the matter, also had before it 
Hon. Arthur P. Davis, Director and Chief Engineer of the United States Reclamation 
Service, and chief counsel of said service, Hon. Will R. King. 

The departments all made favorable report upon the bill as reported. 

Your committee therefore unanimously recommends that the bill do pass. 

The Committee on the Public Lands had under consideration 
n. J. Res. 20, which extends a preference right to soldiers, sailors, and 
marines who have served in the Army or Navy of the United States 
in the war with Germany and have been honorably dischargi?d 
therefrom. The departments reported favorably on H. J. Res. 20 
and the committee reported it out favorably. Section 5 of H. R. 
8440 is in lieu with the provisions of the above mentioned H. J. 
Res. 20 (Rept. 260, 68th Con;^.). 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 21 

The following is a letter to Hon. Frank Bond, chief clerk General 
Land Office, from the author of the bill, and his reply thereto: 

August 11, 1919. 
Hon. Frank Bond. 

Chief Clerk General Land Office, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Mr. Bond: Yours of August 7 regardinji; H. 11. 4l(i. whicli luis to do vith 
the Klamath Lake bird reserve, at hand. 

I note fully what your doubts are as to the provisions of the bill for the establish- 
ment of new boundaries for the Klamatli Lake bird reserve, and 1 believe that the 
provisions of the bill fuUj' care for the matter, but if you think it does not and there 
could be some other language substituted that would make the bill more clear and 
definite I w'ill liave no possible objection to amending it accordingly, as I do not 
in the least desire to impair or destroy the Klamath bird reserve in any way. I 
know the value of it and want to retain it, but at the same time use the land suscep- 
tible of homesteading and not interfere with the reserve. 

Any further suggestions from you on this matter will be appreciated. 
With kindest personal regards. I remain. 
Very truly, yours. 

John E. Raker, M. C. 



Department of the Interior, 

General Land Office, 
Washington. D. C. August 7, 1919. 
Hon. John E. Raker, 

House of Representatices. 
My Dear Mr. Raker: I have received a copy of H. R. 416 and your letter of 
August 5, giving the liistory of same and explaining its pro^^sions, and am obliged 
to you for your thouglitfulness. 

There is only one thing absent from the bill that occurs to me might possibly arise 
for consideration under certain conditions, and that is some proA'ision for the estab- 
lishment of new boundaries to the Klamath Lake bird reservation in case drainage on a 
considerable scale takes place and the smallest legal subdivision established by the 
act should not border upon the reduced shore Une. I think, however, that it is not 
anticipated that the boundaries embracing the smallest legal subdivisions under the 
bill will ever be su])ject to change, either through drainage or raising of the water 
level. 1 should dislike, however, to discover some time in the future that the raising 
of the water level had practically wiped out the smallest legal subdiAdsions reserved 
for the protection of the birds. The usefulness of the reservation would then be con- 
lined in its operation to the furnisliing of resting places only for migratory birds and 
not a breeding ground for those birds which nest in the altitude of the reservation. 
Very truly, yours. 

Frank Bond, Chief Clerk. 

As stated in the former report, there are approximately 54,000 
acres involved in this project. Of this, 27,000 acres are in California 
and 27,000 acres in Oregon. The 27,000 acres in California are all 
public lands by virtue of the above legislation. Of the 27,000 acres 
in Oregon, about 7,000 acres are public lands for the same reason 
and 20,000 acres are privately owned. The privately owned lands 
referred to in section 3 of the act and known as the marsh lands, 
are all situated in Oregon and have been disposed of by the Ignited 
States Reclamation Service in regard to irrigation, drainage, and 
payment of the amount in their proper proportion due the Govern- 
ment of the $283,225 with the marshland claimant under contract 
carrying out fully th(> provisions of section 3 of the act, which con- 
tract is set forth in full in report No. 430, on H. R. 10612, Sixty- 
fifth Congress, second session, as hereinbefore made a part of this 
report. 

The public lands are to be disi)osed of under the provisions of this 
bill and the Government thereby will be fully repaid for all of the 



22 rxE-<T0r>ATIOX AXD EESERVATrO:N' OF PUBLIC LAKDS. 

money expended, namely, S283,225. The land will be opened to 
homestead settlement — reserved for actual and bona fide settlers — 
under the provisions of this bill. 

The land is also covered by a bird reservation under Executive 
order dated August 8, 1908, as amended by second Executive order 
dated May 15, 1915. The bird reservation is provided for and fully 
protected under the provisions of the present bill. 

After full investigations by the departments (which is concurred 
in by your committee), it is determined that the amount of land 
involved in this bill — 34,000 acres public lands fit for homesteading 
by qualified homestead(>rs for agricultural purpose and use — can 
be used by actual bona fide homestead settlers, and at the same time 
fully and amply protect the bird reservation by retaining sufl^cient 
tracts of land along the borders of the lake and the water in the 
lake at sufficient height, so as to give ample and sufiicient breeding 
grounds for birds and at the same time get the highest use of such 
of the lands as may be susceptible of homesteading and therefore agri- 
culture. 

The object and purpose of the bill is such that the bird reser^^ation 
will be preserved and breeding ground for native birds protected, 
and the 34,000 acres of land susceptible of agriculture will be reserved 
and made subject to immediate use and for the benefit of actual and 
bona fide settlers. 

The early and favorable disposition by Congress of this legislation 
will authorize the Secrc'tar}' of the Interior to act, and permit most, 
if not aH, land to be used at a very early date by homesteaders. 

The expenditure by the United States Reclamation Service of the 
$283,225 out of the reclamation fund, and charged to the marsh- 
lands of Lower Klamath Lake (which lands are those involved and 
covered by the provisions of this bill and which will be returned to 
the Government), is set out in an itemized statement contained in 
a letter from the Director of the United States Reclamation Service, 
Hon. A. P. Davis, under date of September 27, 1919, which reads as 
follows: 

Department of the Iktkiuor, 
United States Reclamation Sera'ice. 

Washivgton, D. C, September 37, 1919. 
Hon. .ToHX l\. Raker, 

House of Representdtives. 

My Dear Judge: I have your letter of September 23 recjuesting an itemized 
account of the expenditure of .$283,225 charged to the marshlands of Lower Klamath 
Lake. This is the figure included in H. R. 8440 and its predecessors. 

You will recall that when the Reclamation Service took up the Klamath project it 
was expected that the reclaimed area Would include these marshes — at least that 
assumption was made for the purpose of the early surveys and other preliminary 
Work, and hence jiart of the cost of such investigations is chargeable to the marsh 
lands. These resulted in maps and other information useful in connection with any 
study or development of the marshes and which have been so used, for exami)le, in 
the formulation of the contract with the Klamath drainage district. 

The })lan to include the marshlands in the Klamath ]iroject was laid aside when 
the agricultural exjjerts reported so unfavdrably on the soil p )ssibilities, but this was 
not until considerable construction Work liad been done on the project, and mean- 
while the same assumptifui obtained that the marshlands Would l)e included. Some 
of the earliest construction work was designed and carried out under that assumption. 
Parts of these are therefore chargeable to the marshlands and have ])een used for their 
l)enefit, as stated l)eloW. 

Drainage and reclamation of the marslies involves the lowering of the Lower Klamath 
ijSbke. To do this it Was necessary to satisfy the requirements of the canals drawing 



i;kst()i;ati(ix and eeservation or public lands. 23 

I'roni the lake. Tims there Nvas acciuiied the Adams Canal, which (irigiiially drew 
its sui)i)ly from the lower lake, and by feedin<,^ this through the new project system the 
way was'cleared to drain tlie marshes, at least to the extent of eliminating one claim 
to iuive the lower lake level mahitained f(jr diversion. 

There was another claim of this kind, an actual diversion from the lake to the Van 
Brimmer Canal, and to retire this claim it was necessary to serve the Van Brimmer 
system also from the project canals, which is being done. This involved not only the 
use of a i)roportiouate part of the main canal system but also an enlargement of the 
Griffith lateral, whic-h work is therefore chargeable, in part at least, to the marshlands. 

This also involved a pro]iortionate part of the annual cost for operation and mainte- 
nance of the project s\stem, estimated at $l,''iOO per annum. The Van Brimmer 
people did not assume this exi)ense, and it was therefore neces.sary to charge it to the 
marshlands on account of which the change in the ])oint of diversion for the Van 
Brimmer system was made. To reduce this to a figure that could be included in the 
total charge, this estimated animal ctst was capitalized, assuming an interest rateof 
•") per cent, making a charge of §30,000. 

There were also some exi)enditures for construction work and other items directly 
and sole!>- chargeable to the marshlands. An experimental farm to proAe the soil 
possibilities was established and operated for some time. .\ small pumping ])lant wa« 
erected and operated. The Califonia Northeastern Railroad desired to tniild across 
the marshes, and we coo])erated with them in the location and design of their embank- 
ment so that this would be aA-ailable also as a barrier against the flooding of the marsh- 
lands. Where the embankment crosse.l the Klamath Straits we constructed con- 
trolling works, which are now serving to prevent the Klamath River water from making 
its natural animal overflow into the lake and marshes. 

Bringing together all of the items thus chargeable to the marshlands, we have the 
following tabulation, which adds to the figure in question — $283,225. As above stated, 
many of these figures are only i^arts of the total costs of the items listed: 

(leneral survej-s, stream gauging, etc §15, 992. 56 

Storage works (investigations ) 427. 87 

Main canal 17, 521. 17 

South Branch Canal 33, 219. 35 

Purchase Klamath Canal Co 63, 492. 30 

Purchase Adams ( anal , 27, 996. 30 

Lower Klamath Lake construction (^^embaukment, gates, etc.) 9, 147. 28 

Lower Klamath Lake ])umping plant 2, 650. 02 

Buildimjs .' I, 455. 10 

McCormick tract ]nirchase 11, 218. 52 

Leavitt tract purchase 963. 29 

Telephone system 2, 329. 94 

Experimental farm, lower Klamath marshes 16, 236. 55 

Plant account 26, 947. 32 

Operation and maintenance 127. 67 

Enlargement (Griffith lateral 23, 500. 00 

Capitalization of o])eration and maintenance cost, \'an Brimmer lands. . . 30, 000. 00 

Total 283, 225. 24 

\'ery truly, yours, 

A. P. Davis, Director. 

Mr. George E. Bradiiack, who has given this k'gishition much con- 
sideration, wrote the author of the bill under date of July 23, 1919, 
as follows: 

It has been agreed by all of those here that are interested in the matter that it would 
be better to amend the bill and eliminate section 5 and secure the release and restora- 
tion to entry of this land. Nothing can be legally done toward entry, cultivation, 
and development under existing conditions. * * * 

And again, on August 13, 1919: 

If we can eliminate section 5 and amend the bill in that way and retain all other 
recommendations 1 would favor so doing and securing release of the lands to 
entry. * * * 

The section 5 referred to is in H, H. 416, Sixty-sixth Congress, and 
H. K. 10612, Sixty-fifth Congress, wherein a preference right of 



24 RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

• 

entry was extended to the members of the Siskiyou Homesteaders' 
Association. As above shown this provision has been eliminated from 
the present bill, H. R. 8440. 

On June 25, 1919, Hon. Alexander T. Vogelsang, First Assistant 
Secretary of the Department of the Interior, rendered a decision 
that the title to the land involved in the proposed legislation is in the 
United States and can be divested only by act of Congress, v%'hich 
decision reads as follows: 

Department of the Interior, 

Wnshington. June 25, 1919. 

State of California. '"P'S," L7-705208. Application for survey of alleiied swamp 

lands. Denied. 

APPEAL FROM THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE. 

Lower Klamath Lake is situated partly in the State of California and partly in the 
State of Oregon, drainins; into the Klamath River. A ijortion of the lake is marked 
by precipitous banks, and contains water during- 12 months of the year. Surrounding 
the lake is an area nearly level, extending from the banks just mentioned to the 
hiorher lands in the foothills of the vicinity, this area being covered dvu'ing 9 or 10 
months of the year to a depth of from a few inches to several feet by the waters of the 
lake. Usually, due to recession of the waters, it is uncovered, or practically so. 
during the months of September and October. This portion of the area described 
supports a growth of tules. but is not susceptible of cultivation without drainage. 

On February 3. 1905 (California Stats., 1905, p. 4), the Legislature of California 
passed the following act : 

"Section 1. That for the purpose of aiding in the operations of irrigation and 
reclamation conducted by the Heclamation Service of the United States, established 
by the act of Coneress approved June 17, 1902 (32 Stat., p. 388), known as the reclama- 
tion act, the United States is hereby authorized to lower the water levels of any or 
all of the following lakes: Lower or Little Klamath Lake, Tule or Rhett Lake, Goose 
Lake, and Clear Lake, situated in Siskiyou and Mcdoc Counties, as shown by the 
map of the United States Geological Survey, and to use any part or all of the beds of 
said lakes for the storare of water in connection with such operations. 

"Sec 2. And there is hereby ceded to the United States all the right, title, interest, 
or claim of this State to any lands uncovered by the lowering of the water levels of 
any or all of said lakes not already disposed of by this State; and the lands hereby 
ceded may be disposed of by the United States free of any claim ('U the part of this 
State in any manner that may be deemed advisable by the authorized agencies of the 
United States in -ptirsuance (if the provisions of said reclamation act : Proridcd, That 
this act shall not be in effect as to lakes herein named, which lie ])artly in the State 
of Oregon, until a similar cession has been made by that State." 

Similar le iislation was enacted by the Le.^islature of the State of Oregon (see Oregon 
General Laws, 1905, p. 63). 

February 9, 1905. the ('ongress of the United States passed the following act (33 
Stat.. 714)": 

"That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, in carrying out any irri- 
gation project that may be undertaken l)y him under the terms and conditions of the 
national reclamation act and which may "involve the changing of the levels of Lower 
or Little Klamath Lake, Tule or Rhett" Lake, and Goose Lake, or any river or other 
body of water connected therewith, in the States of Oregon and California, to raise 
or lower the level of said lakes as may be necessary, and to dis])ose of any lands which 
may come into the possession of the United States as a result thereof by cession of any 
State or otherwise, under the terms and conditions of the national reclamation act.'" 

The department is now in receipt, through the General Land Office, of the applica- 
tion of the State of California for a survey, with a view to the subse(|uent issuance of 
patent to the State under the swamp-laiid act of Septeml>er 28, 1850 (9 Stat., 519), 
of alleged swamp and overflowed lands in T. 47 N., Rs. 2 and 3 E., and T. 48 N., 
Rs. 1, 2, and 3 E., U. D. M., California. The lands for which survey and patent are 
asked are areas lying between the precipitous banks in the lower portion of the Lower 
Klamath Lake area and the high ground. In other words, they are the lands covered 
with water during the major ])ortion of the year, and containing the growth of tules, 
heretofore mentioned. 



RESTORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 25 

This application is piotecuted upon the theory that the State of California did not 
cede the lands embraced in the State's present application to the United States by 
the act of February 8, 1905, supra, but tliat that cession related to and passed only 
the area of Lower Klaniath Lake, which is covered by water during the entire year, 
^■iz, the inner or lower basin, marked by banks from 3 to 7 feet in height. If this 
contention were correct, it woidd be the duty of this department to take preliminary 
steps for determining whether or not the lands passed to the State of California under 
the swamp-land grant, and to this and the survey applied for, would be a preliminary 
step. If, however, the area for which survey is asked was ceded by the State of Cali- 
fornia to the United States, it is not essential at the present time to discuss the swamp- 
land grant of 1850, or whether the lands here involved are swamp lands within the 
meaning of that act or form the bed of a permanent lake, except for the purpose of 
determining the intent of the parties and the effect of the act of cession. 

It appears from reports and documents in the record that the California and Oregon 
delegations to the National Irrigation Congress held at El Paso, Tex., on November 
18, 1904, adopted a resolution urging the undertaking and construction of the Klamath 
]>roject as an interstate enterprise, and requested congressional and State legislative 
bodies to lend their aid and assistance to the Reclamation Service in providing such 
legislatic n as might be requii'ed. The acts of the legislatures of the States of California 
and Oregon and the act of Congress of February 3, 1905, supra, followed. The 
Klamath project was undertaken under the provisions of the reclamation act and is 
nuw under construction. 

It is asserted that between $200,000 and $300,000 have been expended from the 
reclamation fund in investigations and works connected, or which was thought Would 
in future be utilized, wuh the reclamation of lands in Lower Klamath Lake. At 
the request of the department an experiment station was established and maintained 
by the Department of Agriculture for several years upon the area adjacent to the lake 
for the purpose of ascertaining the constituents of the soil and its adaptation to 
agricultural productions. 

By contract with a railroad company whose line crosses the outlet of the lake 
the crossing was so constructed as to exclude the backing or overflow of waters from 
the Klamath Eiver into the lake basin, gates being provided at the center of the 
outlet. 

In the case of Churchill Co. v. Kingsl)ury (176 Pac, 339), involving lands within 
the area for which survey was sought Vn' the State, the Supremic Court of California 
~ held that the lands are not such as inure to the State under its swamp grant, Init are a 
part of the lake lied, stating on page 331: 

"The agreed facts in this case show that the land in controversy is a part of the bed 
of Little Klamath Lake, a navigable body of water. During the greater part of the 
year, in ordinary seasons, the land is covered by the waters of the lake. It is uncov- 
ered only at times of low water. The extent of land covered liy any navigable water 
must necessarily vary with the tide, or the rise or fall of the stream or lake. There 
will always be some land that is covered or uncovered as the water is high or low. 
Such land is no less a }>art of the 1 ed because it is extensive in area. The record does 
not sustain the respondent's claim that the waters covering the lands in question 
are flood waters. The stipulation refers only to the high and low water stages reached 
in ordinary seasons. The lake consists of the body of water contained within the 
l)anks as they exist at the stage of ordinary high water." 

Neither of the matters adverted to in the foregoing paragraphs are controlling in 
the matter at issue, for if the State ceded the area to the General Government it is 
immaterial whether it forn s a part of the bed of the lake or is swamp land of the 
character contemplated in the act of 1850. 

The act of Feljruary3, 1905, supra, "ceded to the United States all the right, title, 
interest, or claim of this State to any lands uncovered by the lowering of the water 
levels of any or all of said lakes not already disposed of by this State." 

It is admitted by all parties in interest that water covers the entire area involved 
during the greater part of the year and that the drainage of the lake bed, or the exclu-' 
sion of any considerable part of the waters which normally found their way into it, 
would uncover a portion of the area involved ; in fact, that it would ultimately uncover 
all of the lands except the small area surrounded by the preci})itous banks herein- 
before described and which constitute tire sumj) or deeper portion of Lov/er Klamath 
Lake. These lands, therefore, come within the wording of the statute ceding to the 
United States all right, title, interest, or claim of the State "to any lands uncovered 
by the lowering of the water levels." The latter portion of the clause above quoted 
is also, to mv mind, significant — that is to say, that the State ceded its title to any 
lands "not already disposed of by this State." Within the area here in question the 
State had, prior to 1905, acquired from the Ilnited States title to several pieces of 



26 RP^STORATION AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 

land and had, in turn, patented, deeded, and disposed of these areas to private indi- 
viduals and eorporations. If the cession were not deemed to inc-luile tlie so-called 
tales area sun'ounding- tlie c^enter of Lower Klamatli T>ake, why was it deemed neces- 
sary and advisable to include the exceptini;,' clau^n in the a''t of cession? The attor- 
ney general for the State of ("alifornia, in supplemental argument, ((uestions this 
statement, stating that at the time of the passage of the act of 1905 the State had, in 
addition to patenting and selling the lands in tlie tales area, pending in the ofhce of 
the State surveyor general 11 applications to purcliase stri]>s of land along the margin of 
(joose Lake, 10 of which were subsequently passed to patent; 66 ap];>lications to buy 
lands underlying Tule Tjake, all of which were subsecjuently rejected; and IS appli- 
cations to purchase lands underlying the waters of Lower Klamath Lake, all of which 
were subsequently rejected. These applications to ]jurchase referred to by tlie sur- 
veyor general could not have been regarded by the legislature as a disposal, l>ecausc 
none of them had been allowed. Therefore, no lands within the inner area of Lower 
Klamath T^ake, or any of the other lakes, had, at date of the act of cession, been 
"already disposed of" by the State. It follows, therefore, I think, from the reserva- 
tion so made by the State legislature, that they intended to cede, and did cede, all 
of the lanils witliin Lower Klamath Lake, whether covered by water during the entire 
year or during only a jjortion of the year, excepting from the cession, however, lands 
within tlie Tule area tlieretofore disposed of. 

It seems to me that the Forty-first Legislature of the State of California recognized 
the fact that the State had, by the act of February 3, 1905, ceded the area here in 
dispute, for in its joint resolution No. 12, California Statutes, 1916, page 1872, it 
requested the Senators and Representatives of the State Ln Congress to endeavor to 
have legislation enacted "ceding back to the State of California the right to use all 
or anv part of the bed of 'Lower or Little Klamath Lake' for the storage of water 
connected with the operations of the Reclamation Service of the Ignited States, and 
also ceding l)ack to the State all the right, title, interest, or claim of the Liiited States 
in or to anv of the lands surrounding or connected with said lake in Siskiyou County, 
ceded to it by the above-mentioned act of the Legislature of California, to the end 
that such lake, water, and lands shall ))e returned to said State as they were prior to 
the approval of said act of the legislature approved Fel)ruary 3, 1905, and be gov- 
erned l)y the general laws l^y which they were governed prior thereto, reserving, 
however, to the United States the right to lower the water level in said lake, as pro- 
vided in said act approved February 3, 1905." 

The State of Oregon has also, through its legislature, memorialized Congi-ess to the 
same effect. 

If we are to resort to outside matters in corstruing the intent and effect of the act 
of cession, reference may be had to the fact that from February 3. 1905, to July 30, 
1917, the State asserted no right, title, claim, or interest in or to the lands iuA^olved, 
but allowed the Reclamation Service, Departm.ent of the Interior, to proceed with the 
Klamath reclamation project, upon the theory that the entire area in question had 
been ceded to the United States. Large sums haA e been s]3ent upon the project, which 
would not ha\e been expended had it not been contemplated to reclaim these lands; 
experiments as to the nature and character of the soil in the area vere carried on for 
a number of years by the GoAernment; arrangements made to satisfy certain nested 
water rights in Lower Klamath Lake; contract entered into with the railroad company 
securing structures which control the ingress and egress of waters from the lake_area, 
all of \\ hich things were known to the general public and presumably to the authorities 
of the State of (California, but without any assertion on the part of the State that the 
lands had not passed by cession, until the filing of the application for this siirvev, on 
July 30, 1917. 

I think, howe\er, it is not necessary to resort to these and other outside matters, 
because of the language of the legislative enactments of the State of California herein 
quoted. In my opinion, these constitute a cession of the entire area invohed "not 
already disjwsed of by the State on Fe))ruary 3, 1905. and the lands having been so 
ceded are now held subject to disposition only under the general reclamation laws, 
and this Department is without authority to recognize or entertain any claim on the 
part of the State therefor under the swamp-land act or under any other existing laws. 

In my judgment, the title of the United States to these lands can be divested only 
by act of Congress. 

The ap])lication of the State for a survey, with a view to the selection of and the 
patenting to the State of the lands under the swamp-land act, is accordingly hereby 
denied. 

Alexander T. Vocjelsang, 

Fnst Assistant Secretary. 

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